Mexican Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Supports Bitcoin, Says His Bank Is Working To Embrace The Cryptocurrency

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego has extended his support to Bitcoin and said that his bank, Banco Azteca, was in the process of becoming the first in Mexico to accept the cryptocurrency. Salinas, who heads one of the biggest conglomerates in the Latin American country, tweeted in response to Michael Saylor, another Bitcoin bull, that he recommended the use of the cryptocurrency, which has lost most of its gains this year amid China's widening crackdown on its trade and mining, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's tweets against the digital asset.

In the tweet, Salinas wrote that he recommended “the use of #Bitcoin” and went on to add that he and his bank were “working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept #Bitcoin”. Salinas' tweets in support of the cryptocurrency also saw the price of Bitcoin in INR go up over the weekend, although it's still far from its peak in April this year.

In a tweet in Spanish, Salinas stated that Bitcoin was a good way to diversify the investment portfolio and added that at Banco Azteca they were working to bring the cryptocurrency to clients.

In a video, Salinas said that he had invested a lot of time studying Bitcoin and thought that it was an asset that should be a part of every investor's portfolio. The third-richest man in Mexico said the finite supply of Bitcoin, at 21 million, was the key and if he would have to make a choice to take an asset 30 years into the future, he would take Bitcoin.

During the interview in Spanish, he also briefly discussed fiat money, calling it a “fraud” and “stinky”. The video had English subtitles.

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The support for Bitcoin has come amid a sharp decline in its value, blamed partly on the Chinese crackdown and partly on the Tesla CEO's tweets in which he accused the cryptocurrency of driving up the use of fossil fuels.

Bitcoin had reached an all-time high of nearly $65,000 (roughly Rs. 47.3 lakh) but it lost all the gains in two recent cryptocurrency market crashes in May and June.

Bitcoin had reached an all-time high of nearly $65,000 (roughly Rs. 47.3 lakh) but it lost all the gains in two recent cryptocurrency market crashes in May and June. On Tuesday, around 11.25 am IST, it was trading at $34,668 (roughly. Rs 25.73 lakh), according to CoinDesk.